17 Minutes of Gameplay from ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’

Batman: Arkham Origins releases in just four days, and to get you warmed up for its release, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released an extensive gameplay clip. The video- which showcases The Dark Knight gliding around Gotham City, beating up thugs, using some of his classic gadgets, and even traversing the Bat Cave- should set the minds of any doubters still left at ease.

Clearly, Warner Bros. Interactive was able to build on what Rocksteady perfected, and you can see that for yourself in the video below.

Perhaps the most exciting new aspect shown in this gameplay trailer is the Bat Cave, which will allow you to upgrade your gear throughout the game, and serve as the in-game hub for challenge maps, among other things. What I'm most looking forward to, though, is what is being teased at the end of the video; we see a young Barbara defending Batman to her father, who, along with the rest of the police force, isn't quite ready to trust Bats just yet. We all know how this ends up, but it should be a treat to see this play out. The only issue I noticed in this video was Batman's cape, which, while usually incredibly realistic, was sort of phasing right through him and things around him.

Be sure to put in your pre-orders so that you can get the Black Mask Challenge Maps, and, if you have an iOS device, you can check out the Batman: Arkham Origins mobile game to unlock exclusive content for the console version.

[ComingSoon]

New ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Game Gets Launch Trailer

Just a couple of months ago, a new TMNT game was released on XBLA, titled TMNT: Out of the Shadows, but a new game, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is being released. While Out of the Shadows was more of a fusion of the gritty comic style and the new Nickelodeon television series and featured an adventure style of gameplay, this new game comes directly from the show, sporting cartoonish art and utilizing a side-scrolling play style more akin to the classic TMNT games. Check out the trailer after the jump!

This game looks surprisingly similar to the "Arcade Mode" portion of TMNT: Out of the Shadows (NerdBastards Official Review), which makes me wonder why they would release this one so close to that one. While OotS had it's fair share of issues, it was an enjoyable game with a ton of content, and even looked quite a bit better than this one, to be honest. Nonetheless, you can check out the launch trailer below:

For those interested in picking up a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it's out now for the Xbox 360, Wii, and the Nintendo 3DS.

[Coming Soon]

Mark Hamill Who? Hear ‘Arkham Origins’ New Joker Read From ‘The Killing Joke’

When it was announced Mark Hamill would not be reprising the role of The Joker for the third Arkham game, Batman: Arkham Origins, I was sad, like I'm sure were many of you. It's difficult to imagine anyone else bringing that same sneer mixed with a hint frivolity to the voice. That was, until I heard this.

This video comes from the Batman: Arkham Origins panel at NYCC where the new Joker, Troy Baker, gave the audience a taste of what he's got. Reading an excerpt of the Joker's monologue from The Killing Joke, Baker simply kills it! (The Joker starts talking at about 2:12 mark.)

WOW. All my doubts have been cast aside! Not that Hamill has been bumped from the top spot, he's still the best Joker ever. But Baker? I'm super impressed. What do you all think of Baker's Joker? Worthy of following Hamill in the Arkham series?

Source: Nerd Approved

This Week in Video Games: ‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Trips Out of the Gate, ‘Battlefield 4′ Beta Launches, ‘Half-Life 3′ Confirmed?

I know this column is titled "This Week in Video Games," even though it'll be on a bi-weekly basis. Unfortunately, "These Past Two Weeks in Video Games" doesn't have much of a ring to it; you'll just have to deal with it until we come up with something better. This week, we take a look at the launch of GTA Online (is it running yet?), the Battlefield 4 beta launches, and Valve unveils its new hardware, and maybe even confirms a certain game we've all been waiting for?

Check out all of your gaming news AFTER THE JUMP!

RockStar's Grand Theft Auto Online stumbled quite a bit, being plagued with technical difficulties since it was first launched on Tuesday. Luckily, an update was put out for the PlayStation 3 (Xbox 360 soon to follow) that promises to clear up log in issues.

Pok mon X and Y are due for a worldwide release of October 12^th, a first in the history of the series, but it seems that the street date was broken by a number of game shops in Canada and Italy. Nintendo wasn't having any of it, and is doing its best to get the leaked pictures taken down, but I'm sure you can still find them if you look hard enough.

The Battlefield 4 Beta launched this past Friday, for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. You can check out the Beta's trailer above, and find info to sign up for the Beta HERE.

Tom Clancy, author of a whole slew of novels that were adapted into extremely popular video games, including the Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon franchises, has passed away this week. Clancy's legacy is already reaching into the next generation of platforms with Tom Clancy's The Division, due out in 2014.

The big news coming out of last week was Valve's unveiling of their own hardware, the Steam Machine, along with their own SteamOS and Steam Controller (ABOVE). To learn more about Valve's announcement, click HERE!

Half-Life 3 confirmed? It seems like Valve very well may have confirmed that they are working on Half-Life 3. This is all still speculation at this point, but with the trademark being filed, it seems we should know for a fact sooner or later.

Check out some of these trailers for upcoming games!

Destiny: The Moon Gameplay Trailer

Super Mario 3D World Gameplay Trailer

Batman: Arkham Origins Deathstroke Trailer

Batman: Arkham Origins Knightfall DLC Trailer

South Park: The Stick of Truth Trailer

Upcoming Video Game Releases:

Beyond: Two Souls - Oct. 8^th - PS3

Pok mon X and Y - Oct. 12^th - 3DS

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - Oct. 18^th - Just about every platform

Get those pre-orders out for these titles, as they're releasing in the next 2 weeks, and be sure to check back here on NerdBastards for your video gaming news!

Holy ‘Half Life 3′ Batman!!! Valve Files for European ‘Half Life 3′ Trademark

There's some Half Life 3 shenanigans going on over at Valve, some goings-on and flipery-dippery-doings. Yeah, I don't really know what that means either, but I do know that a resourceful fan of the gaming forum, NeoGAF dug up confirmation that Valve has trademarked Half Life 3 for European markets.

This is just the latest in a series of Half Life 3 tidbits that are all pointing toward Valve finally bringing the third installment of Gordon Freeman's Odyssey to save humanity to gamers everywhere.

Don't forget that Valve is working on a box system of hardware to compete with other gaming consoles. What better way to promote the debut of that system then have one of the most requested and anticipated video games of all time as the flag-ship game for that new system.

The storm is gathering, whether we'll actually get some Half Life rain this time around is still uncertain, but where there's smoke, there's fire, and Valve is puffing like Snoop Lion at a concert back stage.

What do you think? Is it finally going to happen? Will it, could it possibly live up to all the Internet hype and expectations?

Via: Kotaku

Former Nintendo President, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Passes Away

Despite the fact that the majority of gamers are having a wonderful time playing GTA V, today will go down as a sad day for gaming. We now have word that Nintendo's former President, Hiroshi Yamauchi, has passed away at the age of 85.

Running the company from 1949- 2002, Yamauchi was responsible for Nintendo throughout not only the most important years of the company, but also the most important years in gaming. Taking over as president of Nintendo when it was still just a trading card company, he made the decision to move the company toward electronic entertainment, and his vision and creativity is seen through Nintendo's entire gaming history, as he grew and expanded video gaming itself.

Having been president of the company through its ground breaking NES console, all the way through to its performance focused GameCube, Yamauchi was a major player in arguably the best period in gaming; okay, I know that is almost the entire period of gaming, but you can just look at what gaming has morphed into, from what it originally was, and you'll see Nintendo's, and in turn, Hiroshi Yamauchi's, fingerprints all over it.

As a man that has helped build the gaming industry into the unbelievable monster that it is today, and in turn has provided us with years of entertainment, the legacy of Nintendo's former President will surely live on. It is without a doubt that Hiroshi Yamauchi's influence will continue to be felt throughout the gaming world for years to come.

[BBC News]

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Grand Theft Auto V

It's a bit unfair to judge something fully after experiencing it partially. So keep in mind that I have an open mind about GTA going forward and that I'm simply relaying to you my initial thoughts. So far, I've played Grand Theft Auto V for about 25 hours over the last few days (for work!) and I've only completed 4% of the missions.

I've only just met Michael, mid-midlife crisis. I just stole a boat for him and met his wannabe gangsta of a son. We've only just begun, and yet I don't really care.

Franklin is a begrudging hooligan. I've spent most of my time playing as him. He has a dog that gets easily distracted during the thrill of the hunt by the thrill of the hump (worst POV porn E-V-E-R). I have given Franklin a full beard and a lo fro... just because.

I rather enjoy that we can switch back and forth between each main character's lives, but I do it out of boredom more than anything else. Will that change as I play more missions? Perhaps, and I am going to keep playing this, but so far, the missions have failed to grab my attention.The best part of this game is the make your own adventure feel of a truly enormous open world. Do you want to sail the ocean just to see if it ever ends? Go nuts. Use the cheat codes to fly/fall through the sky, to run fast, or to cause explosions with your melee attacks? Feel free.

You can just drive and drive and drive, or go to the strip club to experience a topless lapdance (but only one for novelties sake, because after that = sad).

You can do almost anything in this game, but really, I imagine that this is what it would be like to be Superman, but only Superman is a dick and nothing that he does matters.

That's not to say that this isn't fun. It most certainly is. I'm having a ball driving around and exploring the world, but eventually, this will all get old.

I'd feel better about this game's replay potential and the chorus of hype that accompanied it if the interiors of this world weren't so closed off - the exploration and the detail are amazing, but I feel like I'm driving around at 4AM and everything is closed.

At the end of the day, this is a popcorn movie with a bunch of thrills and explosions, but there isn't a lot of nuance, and from an evolutionary standpoint, it really doesn't do much to build on its predecessors, though again, it's extremely unfair to sum up this deep of a game this early in its existence.

A new massive map, some new cars, some new toys, and some new tricks. Right now, that's what you get for $60. Not a bad deal, but it's not a great one, either.

Stay tuned to NerdBastards for continuing coverage on Grand Theft Auto V, including a review on GTA V: Online, where we'll look at what that enhancement does for this game and this series.

‘Warcraft’ Casting to Feature Farrell and Patton?

As a reminder that Star Wars Episode VII isn't the only sci-fi/fantasy project casting right now, it seems that a pair of leads are being courted for the highly-anticipated World of Warcraft movie. Deadline is reporting that if all goes according to plan, then Colin Farrell (Total Recall) and Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol) will headline the movie based on the massive online role-playing game.

The rub, according to Deadline is that they're not sure that "Farrell is going to make a deal-sources said it's 50/50." So Farrell may not end up being in the film after all, but perhaps he's the frontrunner and preference of director Duncan Jones for the part. Patton, meanwhile, is said to be in negotiations for a lead role, as Jones tests other potential leads in case Farrell doesn't work out.

In the meantime, Warcraft is still on schedule to start shooting this January in Vancouver for a 2015 release date. The project is set up at Legendary Pictures, and although no studio is attached yet, it's widely expected that the film will be released through Legendary's new partner, Universal.

More news as it develops.

Source: IGN

Check Out the Teaser for Neil Gaiman’s Video Game, ‘Wayward Manor’

There are few out there who do not recognize the name of Neil Gaiman, at least when it comes to his Sandman and novel fame. But this guy does a lot more than just these two mediums. He's been involved in movies, done stage work with his lovely wife Amanda Palmer, and now it looks like Gaiman will be making his first foray into the world of video games. Yes, if you've ever wanted to play a Neil Gaiman story, you'll have your chance with Wayward Manor.

Working with video game developers, The Odd Gentlemen, the official description of Wayward Manor is as follows:

Wayward Manor is a puzzle/adventure game hybrid that invites players to solve the mysteries of the mansion any way they choose. You play as a disgruntled ghost, trying to reclaim your house from its newfound owners.

This dysfunctional family of misfits and eccentrics have stifled your power and brought their own abysmal possessions into your humble abode. Each level is a playground for scares where players absorb fear to take back control of the room.

If you want free reign over your mansion once again, you must uncover their deepest anxieties and drive them mad with fear using your wits and their hideous belongings.

And in the following video, Gaiman talks a bit about what to expect from the game and shows off some of the art design:

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If you feel like pre-ordering the game and pledging your support to the project, you can head over to their website.

Thanks to BleedingCool for the heads-up.

Live Action Trailer – COD: Black Ops II – Everything’s Better With More Robert Downey Jr.

Activision has a new trailer out for it’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops II game and they’ve upped the celebrity bar with none other than Robert Downey Jr.You might remember that Activision used Jimmy Kimmel, and Kobe Bryant in their last Black Ops commercial in 2010.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II hits store shelves worldwide on November 13, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The game story line and soundtrack was created by David S. Goyer (co-writer of The Dark Knight Rises) and Trent Reznor (Academy Award-winning composer of The Social Network).

The single-player campaign will feature two connected storylines, one set in the 1970s through 1980s and the other in 2025. The protagonist of Black Ops, Alex Mason returns as the protagonist in the Cold War section, where he will be fighting in proxy wars for the United States in the Cold War. Known locations for this section of the game include multiple sites in Central America and in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. This section of the game will also see the rise to infamy of the game’s primary antagonist, Raul Menendez. Mason’s friend and colleague Frank Woods will also return, and narrate the story into the 2025 section of the game. The 2025 section of the game features Alex Mason’s son David as a protagonist. In it, a new cold war has broken out between China and the United States after China bans the export of rare earth elements following a cyberattack that cripples the Chinese Stock Exchange. In this era, war is defined by robotics, cyber warfare, unmanned vehicles and other modern technology. Taking advantage of this stand-off, Menendez attempts to bring the two powers to a full-blown war by inciting conflicts between the two. Known locations for this section of the game include Los Angeles, Singapore and Socotra, Yemen.

In the 2025 section of the game, the player will have access to special ‘Strike Force missions’, that feature permanent death and the outcome of which can affect the course of the campaign’s storyline.It has been hinted at that the side-plot of Viktor Reznov and his relationship with Alex Mason, which began in Black Ops, will be continued in Black Ops II.

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Is Microsoft Planning Their Own Next-Gen Console Event?

Unless you’re a video game recluse you’ve by now heard Sony has officially announced the PS4. While Nintendo’s Wii U has already been available for months, it’s the PS4′s release this holiday season that really signals the beginning of the next generation of gaming consoles. Sorry, Wii U, but serious gamers just don’t care. Shit, serious gamers use PCs, so they don’t give a fuck about all this next-gen talk anyway.

The ball is now in Microsoft‘s court, what will they be offering up to counter the substantial updates of the PS4? It’s been rumored we’d learn about Microsoft’s next-gen console by GDC, the Game Developers Conference on March 25th, but maybe we’ll see something even earlier. Eventcore, an event organizing company Microsoft has worked with in the past, just registered the domain XboxEvent.com. Visiting the site will get you nowhere, but the fact it’s been registered at all is raising some questions. And honestly, I don’t think anyone believed Microsoft would stay quiet about the Xbox 720 or whatever it is for long.

What do you guys think? Will Microsoft be announcing their next-gen console soon in order to steal a little of Sony’s thunder?

Source: Geek Tyrant

‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Producer Clark Spencer Spills The Beans On Skrillex Cameo

Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is quickly becoming the animated movie to see this November. With stars like John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, and Sarah Silverman voicing the characters, this movie is sure to please kids, their parents, and gaming fanatics like myself. The attention to detail shown so far in the trailer and clips has been incredible.Producer Clark Spencer sat down with Sam Ashurst of Total Film to talk about the project how the project was able to get the rights to use all of our favorite video game characters that belonged to a myriad of competing video gaming companies.

“It was interesting part of the process, we talked early on about making the film authentic and the only way to do that was to have real game characters in the film as well as the characters we’d created, otherwise it would fell like an artificial environment.

But when you do that, you don’t know the reality of what characters you’re going to be able to license for the film.

Rich [Moore, director] and I went to E3, and pitched the movie to all the different game companies, talking about the concept.

What was great about that was we developed a one-on-one relationship [with the people at the game companies], and people warmed to the idea.

So they felt like it could be something interesting, but they were still a little skeptical, as they were giving their own creative characters over to Wreck-It Ralph.

And so we said we’d keep them involved in the process, and give them the script pages. We showed them the models, we showed them the early animation tests, and even the final animations.

We brought them along the entire way, and it made companies willing to participate, because they felt like we were going to be true to their characters.

As a result we got pretty much almost anything we wanted, because the companies started feeling the momentum and everybody pretty much said yes to us.”

Getting all those video game companies to agree is an amazing feat in itself, it must have looked like an almost impossible task in the beginning. I’m sure once one company agreed that the others most likely went with it so that their video game characters weren’t excluded from what could be a huge Disney movie blockbuster.

Spencer then went into detail about how specific those video game companies were about the use and appearance of their characters and how the production and animation team worked to include everyone in just about every step of the production.

“The games companies were very specific – there’s a scene in which Bowser drinks a cup of coffee, and they were very specific about how Bowser would drink coffee.

The other thing that was fascinating to me was that all of the companies know how tall their characters are.

There was lots of conversation about which character would be the biggest character in that Bad Anon scene. Even to the specifics of centimeters, but that was helpful, because we wanted it to be authentic.

We had a scene where we wanted the rings to come out of Sonic, and SEGA said the only way that happens is if he falls over, and we didn’t have him fall over in the scene, so we actually went back and re-animated it.”

There will be one HUGE video game character that won’t be making an appearance in Wreck-It Ralph, Mario will be curiously absent. Spencer addressed that issue by saying:

“The hard thing was, we were trying to work out the right way to use a character like Mario. It had to be organic to the film, we didn’t want to just paste him in there.

For Bowser, it made perfect sense for him to be a member of the Bad Anon group. For Mario himself we couldn’t think of the right way to incorporate him into the film, and so we didn’t do it.

Now we get to the human cameo in the film, Skrillex. It was announced at Comic Con that Skrillex would be contributing to the soundtrack for Wreck-T Ralph, but know we also know that Skrillex will be making his animated movie debut as well. When asked about this particular detail Spender said:

“We asked him if we could do it,” Spencer said. “We went to him first and said, ‘Hey, we have this party scene in the world of Fix It Felix Jr, and we have a DJ and we think it would make a nice cameo if we put you into it.’ And he was ecstatic.

We built his model, we put on his look, and we sent it to him to have him give us comments. And he said he would never wear non-black tennis shoes. He said “My tennis shoes will always be black.” So we changed the tennis shoes to black.

You don’t see them in the film, as he’s behind the DJ booth, but they were in the model. He has seen the animation, and he’s very, very excited about it.”

Who wouldn’t want to be in a Disney animated movie? This movie just keeps sounding better and better.The latest trailer is below, check it out.

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Wreck-It Ralph hits theater screens on November 2nd, 2012.

Via:



"> Total Film

New Trailer for ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’

Aliens fans are probably already aware that the franchise is dropping another video game on us in about a month and a half. This one is called Aliens: Colonial Marines and looks to be a FPS for the most part. And with its upcoming release is a new trailer to entice people into buying and playing the game, of course.

The game is a sequel to the movie Aliens, dealing with events immediately following the film. To emphasize this connection, the new trailer features a warning message from none-other-than Corporal Hicks. But do the marines listen and stay away from the alien-infested planet? Well, it wouldn't be much of a game if they did, right?

So, without further ado, here is the latest trailer:

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Look for Aliens: Colonial Marines to be hitting the shelves at your local game stores come February 13^th of next year.

Thanks to geektyrant for the heads-up.

‘Dead Space 3′ – Still Terrifying in Co-op

We always thought that the Dead Space franchise would be less terrifying if you had a companion by your side. As it turns out, no… no it isn’t.

It’s still the same edge of your seat, white knuckle adventure into insanity it always was.

Visceral Games has released a new trailer that let’s us know no matter how many people you have with you, the buddy system doesn’t mean anything in the decent into madness.

Clarke still appears to be batshit insane, I mean why else would the trailer focus on toy soldiers*(Editor’s note* Because toy soldiers are horrifying that’s why.) and why would your co-op partner look like the necromorphs have taken hold of him? We are not ashamed to say we defiantly experience goosebumps during this video. Turn all your lights on a stay safe while you watch this..
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Source: GeekTyrant

Watch All the World Premiere Trailers From the 2012 VGA’s

Friday night were the 10th annual Video Game Awards, hosted by Samuel L. Jackson on Spike. The night’s big winner was The Walking Dead: The Game from Telltale Games, who also took home Studio of the Year. See a full list of the winners below the cut.

But even more important than the night’s winners are the world premiere trailers revealed at the show. Compiled here are trailers for BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Dark Souls II, Halo 4: Spartan Ops, Gears of War: Judgment, Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 and The Phantom Pain.

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More trailers below!

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Game of the Year – The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)

Studio of the Year – Telltale GamesBest Xbox 360 Game – Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)Best PS3 Game – Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany)Best Wii / Wii-U Game – New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo)Best PC Game – XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games/Firaxis Games)Best Handheld / Mobile Game -Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment/Queasy Games)Best Shooter – Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software)Best Action Adventure Game – Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)Best RPG – Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts/BioWare)Best Multi-Player Game – Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software)Best Individual Sports Game – SSX (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)Best Team Sports Game – NBA 2K13 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)Best Driving Game – Need For Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)Best Fighting Game – Persona 4 Arena (Atlus/ARC System Works/Atlus)Best Adapted Video Game – The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)Best Independent Game – Journey (thatgamecompany)Best Graphics – Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)Best Song in a Game – “Cities” by Beck (Sound Shapes)Best Original Score – Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany)Best Performance By a Human Male – Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)Best Performance By a Human Female – Melissa Hutchison as Clementine (The Walking Dead: The Game)Best Downloadable Game – The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)Best Social Game – You Don’t Know Jack (Jellyvision Games)Best DLC – Dawnguard - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks/Bethesda Game Studios)Most Anticipated Game – Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games)

Which of these new games are you most excited for? For me it’s South Park: The Stick of Truth, the game looks hilarious!

Source: Coming Soon

‘Avengers’ Get Their Own Pinball Machine

Let's face it, The Avengers made a shitton of cash and if Disney has anything to say about it, they'll keep milking the super team until it's dry as a bone. So what's the next step in the process? Well, it's an unconventional one these days, but they decided to give The Avengers their own pinball machine.

The new machine will come in three different flavors – Avengers Pro, Avengers LE (Limited Edition) and a Hulk LE. A fourth flavor, Avengers Premium, will be arriving next year.

But don't take our word for it, check out the press release and pretty pictures below (after the jump).

Stern Pinball Celebrates The Avengers Motion Picture with New Machine

Avengers Pinball Game Joins Stern's Collection of Comic Inspired Games

MELROSE PARK, IL - November 29, 2012 - Stern Pinball Inc., the world's leading maker of real pinball games, announced today the release of The Avengers pinball machine. The newest member of the Stern collection memorializes The Avengers, a franchise that has remained a staple in pop culture since it first appeared as a comic book series in 1963. The Avengers will join Stern's revolutionary line-up of comic inspired machines including X-Men, Spiderman, Iron Man and Batman.

For almost 50 years The Avengers have delighted fans through comic books, television series and movies. Stern is thrilled to bring the franchise to pinball and provide fans with a new medium through which to enjoy The Avengers. The machine features a dynamic setting that incorporates six iconic Avenger heroes: Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, CaptainAmerica, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Players help The Avengers assemble to defeat the notorious villain Loki. The Avengers pinball features an animated twisting and pounding custom molded HULK, drop targets and a spinning cube bonus, in addition to plenty of multiball action.

"Throughout the years The Avengers have cultivated a loyal and energetic fan base," said Gary Stern, founder, CEO and Chairman of Stern Pinball. "Stern is pleased to have the opportunity to give these fans an Avengers pinball game to enjoy for years to come."

The Avengers game continues both the Stern Pinball and the Stern family tradition of producing quality pinball machines for young and old. The company traces its lineage toPhiladelphiain the 1930s when Sam Stern entered the business of operating pinball games. Stern passed his lifelong enthusiasm for the game and the business of pinball to his son Gary Stern who founded Stern Pinball. Today pinball remains one ofAmerica's favorite pastimes.

Pricing and Availability:

Avengers Pro: $5699 MSRP

Avengers LE: $8099 MSRP

HULK LE: $8099 MSRP

Avengers Premium: Pricing available in 2013

And, as promised, pretty pictures:

Thanks to Collider for the heads-up.

Will ‘Zombieland’s’ Fleischer Take Us For a Ride in ‘Spy Hunter?’

As his Gangster Squad is in the shop to make it a little less current (meaning that they’re reshooting the climactic shootout in a movie theater because of real-life events this past July), director Ruben Fleischer is looking to his next project: Spy Hunter.

Based on the 1983 arcade game, which has been updated over the years, Spy Hunter’s initial iteration was a race game with firepower, like James Bond meets Grand Theft Auto. Updates in gaming technology saw subsequent games with more spy elements, which should make translating it to the screen that much easier, right? Well, just ask John Woo and Paul W.S. Anderson. They’ve both been previously attached to the big screen version of Spy Hunter.

But Vulture is now reporting that Fleischer has signed on, and is aiming to achieve where Anderson and Woo could not. It’s also reported that he’s looking for new screenwriters to pen the script, so Fleischer, it seems, is pretty serious about getting down to work.

Fleischer is still perhaps best known for the 2009 horror/comedy hit Zombieland, which he followed up with the sophomore slump 30 Minutes or Less. The highly anticipated Gangster Squad is due in theaters on January 11, 2013.

Source: Cinema Blend

Ask the Bastards #4: Michael Bay’s Turtles, Essential Predators and the Battle Between Trek and Wars

Welcome, boys and girls, to another thoroughly offensive edition of “Ask the Bastards,” the weekly feature where you, the readers, get to ask us, the staff of Nerd Bastards, any questions you want about our lives of semi-professional (or, in some cases, full-on professional) nerdery. This week we’re tackling another round of very important questions covering everything from Star Wars vs. Star Trek, fear of Michael Bay’s TMNT flick, the “true” definition of nerd and just who the hot chick is on our Facebook fan page.

And hey, before we go any further, we just want to thank the readers for continuing to show enthusiasm for this thing. It began as a dumb idea (Matthew’s dumb idea, in case anyone was wondering) that we decided to take for a spin, and now a month later we’re not only still doing it, but we’re getting more questions every week. So thanks for chipping in, and keep the questions coming!

Got a question for “Ask the Bastards”? Make sure to Like Us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter. We put out the call for questions every week, so keep an eye out and fire away.

Dear Nerd Bastards, when are you going to post a shoot with the hottie on your facebook fan page? SRSLY? WHEN? - Bobby

Oh, that’s OnHerCam model Sweet Victoria. She follows us on Twitter (@NerdBastards). When I had first announced that NB had T-Shirts for sale, she contacted me begging for one, and said that she would model it for us. Who am I to dismiss a pretty nerdy girlie? So I obliged. The rest is history. You can check out Sweet Victoria saying hi and strutting her stuff in a sexy (SFW) video she sent us (HERE). — Luke Gallagher

Montreal Comiccon Sep 14-16. Should I buy a Star Trek tee or simply wear a pin? - Marc

Tee. Always go full nerd. — Jason Tabrys

Both. Always go beyond what is considered full Nerd — Mark Poynter

Shiiiiiiiiiiiit son, you tattoo that dat communicator on your chest! Extra nerd points if you can convince ST actor Walter Koenig (Chekov) to do the ink – Luke Gallagher

If we were talking about something you were going to wear on the street any time of year to show your love and appreciation for Trek I’d say either is fine. But if you’re going to a con and are wearing anything less than a full Starfleet uniform you’re chickening out. Either that, or Luke’s tattoo idea. That’s how hardcore Trekkies roll at a con. - Adam A. Donaldson

How bad do you really think the Michael Bay alien ninja turtle movie will be? - Matthew

Take the bad acting of Battleship, mix it with the nonsense of the live-action Masters of the Universe movie, and blend heavily with the any of the Three Ninjas movies. That’s how big of a turd the alien Ninja Turtles movie would be. -Nick Bungay

Based on Latino Review‘s 12 minute video breakdown of an early draft of the script, I’d say “Kill it with fire”. I’d rather watch Jersey Shore, Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo or all three Transformers movies. Hell, I’d rather slam my dick, repeatedly, in a sliding glass door than subject myself to Bay’s alien turtles. – Luke Gallagher.

It honestly depends on who’s rewriting it and who’s directing it at this point. I’m hoping it won’t be terrible. But the instinct when you hear Bay’s name is to cringe, so it doesn’t look good. And by the way, pay no attention to Bungay’s nonsense. The Three Ninjas movies are amazing. - Matthew Jackson

Matthew’s right, if the powers that be learn a lesson from the reaction of the internet fanbase, we’ll NEVER see a movie based on that script, or ideas in that script, in our local theaters. Now I don’t have a visceral hatred of Michael Bay like some of my nerdy brethren, which is why I can say with some authority that on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Michael Bay has to go! The inspiration for the original comic was Frank Miller’s Daredevil, the X-Men spin-off New Mutants and the Dave Sims indie Cerebus, and there’s nothing in there about chosen ones, alien invasions, and whatever the hell else Bay saw fit to put in there, whether he admits it or not. And by the way, 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain is the bomb! – Adam A. Donaldson

Do any of the Bastards have a favorite “gloriously terrible”, so_bad_its_good movie? For me, its Street Fighter: The Movie. Its secretly brilliant. - Jan

The Room tears me apart! — Jason Tabrys

A Knight’s Tale . . . That goofy mix of rock and medieval times Love it, but the movie is really corny. – Mark Poynter

There’s a special place in my heart for Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. - Matthew Jackson

Boil me in oil if you must, but I have a soft spot for Ang Lee’s Hulk. If nothing else, Lee combined well the trappings of the superhero blockbuster and a messed up family drama in an style that moves more like a motion comic than a typical movie. – Adam A. Donaldson

There have been a lot of final fantasy movies, but why is there no kingdom hearts movie? Is it because of all the Disney rights? I’ve pondered this for a long time. - Ethan

Beloved Disney characters such as Goofy, Donald, and Mickey interacting with many characters from the Final Fantasy RPG series and characters from the Disney animated films… yeah, it’s prolly a licensing nightmare. Then again, Disney/Square Enix did make a few video games together, so I dunno why there would be problems with an animated movie.

I agree with you. The video game has such an amazing story, a movie would be absolutely brilliant. I’d suggest leaving a bloody Mickey head in Micheal Eisner’s bed (God Father style) with a note “Kingdom Hearts movie, or else…” — Luke Gallagher

I have no answer. I just need to note that if you want to get anything done, you need to leave the bloody head and note in Robert Iger’s bed, because Michael Eisner left Disney years ago. - Matthew Jackson

Assfucks be lazy. – Chris D.

Been looking for a definitive definition for nerd, geek, and dork. What’s your take? - Tim

“Awesome” is a word. – Luke Gallagher.

The lines have become so blurred between those three words, I don’t think anybody knows what means what anymore. As far as I’m concerned, we’re all nergorks. – Chris D.

Is there any point in trying to define those things? If you define them, then you have to exclude people from the ranks, and that’s the kind of thing that got some of us here. Love what you love and be happy. – Matthew Jackson

A nerd is someone with a degree of expertise. A geek is someone who just carries the love. And a dork is a straight up poser. – Adam A. Donaldson

Who is your favorite Star Wars character/characters? - Fanci Sue

Han. Always stick with a classic. — Jason Tabrys

Vader, but only the 4,5,6 movie Vaders. — Mark Poynter

Dat alien in the cantina scene. You know the one. — Luke Gallagher

When I was four it was Luke, but in my old age it’s become Han. And Boba Fett, because he’s Boba Fett. - Matthew Jackson

Chewie, baby! – Adam A. Donaldson

Which is better and why? Star Wars or Star Trek? - Angela

Can’t we all just get along? I am Sci-Fi-Bi. Mark Poynter

I’m going to steal Mark’s answer because he’s clearly more clever than I am. Although Trek DID get one of my friends laid… – Chris D.

It’s like comparing apples and potatoes, both are nourishing and delicious, but are two entirely different foods that give you something different. - Adam A. Donaldson

That's a very big question. One I could write a college dissertation on. But, for the sake of time, imma say Star Wars. I know Star Trek came first and it broke social boundaries and dared us to imagine greater, but Star Wars... that was the ticket to adventure. The level of detail and imagination that went into the saga is immeasurable. And the brand recognition is right up there with Jebus and the Beatles. Star Wars is textbook for anyone that calls themselves a nerd.- Luke Gallagher

If you’d like to experience more high-concept sci-fi with lots of political, cultural and moral implications built into the space goodness, it’s Trek. If you’d like to have good times with robots and lasers (and really, who doesn’t?), it’s Wars. But I love them both very much for very different reasons, and I never declare a preference. After all, Star Wars has a bounty hunter with a jet pack, but Star Trek has the time Kirk and Spock time traveled to save the whales. How do you pick a winner? - Matthew Jackson

Which films and games in the entire Predator franchise do you consider worthy of a personal Predator collection? - Sean

Well it wouldn’t be any of the games, ’cause in my mind they all sucked pretty evenly. As far as movies go, I would definitely go with Nimr d Antal‘s Predators. I mean come on, Topher Grace playing the psychopathic asshole, a sword swinging yakuza, rival Predators and a ripped Adrien Brody ( I call no homo)…it was all good. — Nick Bungay

Predators is above average entertainment, especially for a movie in this franchise pockmarked by so many misfires. In my collection there’s the original Predator and Predators. (Although I do own Alien Vs Predator as well, but, you know, ironically.) – Adam A. Donaldson

What did you guys think of the new Total Recall? - Luis

Having watched both versions of the film I have to go with the remake. Rather than setting it on a planet none of us have been to, the remake grounds the film in an alternate reality, where at some point in time something similar -culture-wise- could happen. -Nick Bungay

The new Recall was perfectly satisfying, middle of the road summer entertainment; not terribly inspired (like all of Len Wiseman’s films), but not terrible. I will also take this opportunity though to point out that remakes are not necessarily bad. The John Huston-directed Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart was a remake of film made just 10 years after the original adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett novel. An Affair to Remember, one of the most romantic films of all time, was a remake. John Carpenter’s The Thing, 3:10 to Yuma, Scarface… all great films and all remakes. Now, are all remakes good? Of course not, but the mere fact of being a remake doesn’t necessarily make a movie bad, and I think we’re sometimes too quick to judge on that account. – Adam A. Donaldson

Naruto vs Goku. GO! - Jesse

Two Words: “Spirit Bomb” — Nick Bungay

I’ve actually never watched Naruto, but I fuckin’ loved the Dragon Ball series as a kid. Anybody who pissed me off immediately got kamehameha’d. – Chris D.